The First Department took down defendant's directed verdict, reinstated the complaint, and ordered a new trial, in Hendricks v. Baksh, which was decided on December 6, 2007. The court said that the directed verdict was improperly granted on the ground that expert testimony was necessary for plaintiff to make a prima facie case of negligence. The court noted that defendant admitted that two years before the accident he repaired the area of the sidewalk in front of his home where plaintiff tripped and fell, and concluded that the question of whether this repair was performed negligently, thereby creating a defect causing plaintiff to trip and fall, should have been given to a jury. The details of the repair work -- whether defendant used the right concrete, or poured enough of it in the right places, or should have removed the cobblestones, or failed to properly take into account the effects of weather, foot traffic and tree roots on the installation -- are not matters beyond the ken of the typical juror, nor are they issues of such scientific or technical complexity as to require the explanation of an expert in order for the jury to comprehend and resolve them.